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Okmulgee Indian Community (2023) Print
2023 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Community Gardens
└ Community Gardens
Older adults in Okmulgee lacked access to fresh produce and opportunities for healthy engagement. Using vacant land near housing for those age 50-plus, the community built six raised garden beds designed for tribal elders and secured donated seeds. The garden became part of a Healthy Living initiative that includes walking and exercise classes, fostering nutrition and social connection. Plans to expand the garden will strengthen long-term goals of healthy eating and community camaraderie, ensuring members have a shared space to grow food and relationships.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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Roanoke, VA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: To combat food insecurity, improve neighborhood safety and encourage residents to spend time outdoors, this project enhanced an existing community garden. Over several community work days volunteers installed raised beds, benches, a picnic table and portable toilet facilities. Organizers hope the improvements make the garden more accessible to people of all ages -- including older adults living in nearby apartment complexes.
Davis, WV
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: An unused section of campus offered no space for growing food or community engagement. The project transformed it into a garden with 20 raised beds and four accessible benches, successfully producing potatoes and garlic on land once used for coal mining. The garden is now a permanent feature supporting education and local agriculture, with plans to expand crops for families and the food bank. "It was incredible to see our potato harvest just a few months after planting," one participant said.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Kansas City, MO
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: The project tackled the challenge of a once-neglected lot that offered no inviting place for residents to sit or gather, reinforcing its reputation as an unsafe and unused space. The project added seating as a first step toward real progress in reclaiming the area, encouraging people to rest and converse. The improvements also reduced unwanted activity by showing that the site was becoming active again. Growing community interest supported future phases of the vision, and volunteers and interns continued stepping in to help at events. The upgrades sparked conversations about bringing similar spaces to other neighborhoods.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Okmulgee, OK
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Okmulgee Main Street set out to reclaim a downtown alley that residents avoided due to trash dumping, poor lighting and uneven walking surfaces that felt unsafe, especially for older adults. The space functioned only as a service corridor, leaving people living nearby with few accessible places to walk, sit or connect. The project removed dumpsters, leveled the surface and added lighting, clear signage, accessible benches, planters, murals and removable bollards. These changes created a smooth, well-lit path with places to rest and visible cues that invite people to enter and stay. Older adults were closely involved in shaping and building the space and now report feeling safer using it, including in the evening. The alley has already hosted community events and is functioning as permanent, age-friendly infrastructure that supports daily use and strengthens nearby businesses while offering a practical model for future downtown improvements.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Tulsa, OK
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public art installations
Description: Until recently, Tulsa's Greenwood neighborhood was a food desert, with fresh and healthy food difficult to find. When the Oasis Fresh Market opened in North Tulsa, the Met Cares Foundation wanted to celebrate a healthier future. So they engaged the community to paint a mural for the new store. First, project organizers called on local students to create drawings celebrating the theme A Healthy Future for All Generations. Residents then voted on their favorite designs, selecting winners from elementary, middle and high school students. Finally, North Tulsa artists painted murals on the market's wall, using the students' designs as inspiration. Project organizers say the beautification effort allowed community members to depict a hopeful future for Greenwood. They plan to make the design contest an annual event.
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